Frequently Asked Questions
We’re not your typical florist so here are a few answers to some of the questions we’re most often asked..
About our flowers ...
From New Zealand growers, mostly in the Tauranga/ Whakatane area, but where we can we buy from local Taupo growers. We don’t buy imported flowers because we want to support local, we love using garden flowers in our bouquets and if enough florists don’t support local growers they will likely go out of business and then we won’t be able to source those little unusal pieces that give our bouquets personality. Unfortunately Taupo isn’t a great growing area and there isn’t any local flower market so when we say we buy locally we mean in the wider domestic sense, but always NZ grown.
The answer is usually yes to all of the above. However give us a call first and we can let you know if it’s something we will use or not. We are always grateful if you can drop it off to us as we don’t always have time to go and pick things or pick cuttings up ourselves, but it depends on what it is, how much we desperately need it (usually that depends on if we can dry it), and if is it close by. Like most we’re a small busy team so we don’t always have time to leave the studio.
Probably the answer is yes so come in and talk to us. Usually we have more time to talk in the afternoons than the mornings. Growing cut flowers is often a lot harder than it sounds and you’ll need to do some research. We suggest getting in touch with the Floral Business Activator group, a group of NZ growers who’ve got together to help each and build skills https://learn.floralbusinessactivator.com/
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About our dried deliveries ...
Yes we do. For the most part if we can’t use it fresh then we’ll dry it. There are some things you can’t dry like orchids or lilies but for the most part we’ll try anything. We don’t buy imported bleached, dyed or sprayed dried flowers and we don’t spray paint our own.
Mostly we just hang them upside down from wires near the ceiling.
About our deliveries ...
Mostly we do so you get the personal touch. However if it’s going to Turangi, Kuratau etc or Reporoa we use NZ Couriers who do a weekday only service. For Turangi and Reporoa if we receive the order and can get it to the courier by 11am then it’s a same day service, otherwise it’s overnight. Pick up for Reporoa is from Valley Traders only, there is no door to door service. For orders to Turangi township there is a door to door service. Because these orders can be overnight we include a vox box in the delivery price so the flowers can stay hydrated.
We’ll happily deliver flowers to people at work but please let us know the name of the workplace as well as the address. Sometimes there are multiple offices at the one address or no numbering on the door and a bouquet isn’t like a letter, we can’t just put it in the slot and hope for the best. If it’s a birthday it can be a good idea to check the person hasn’t taken the day off.
If we are delivering to a holiday home, let us know because sometimes the houses look empty and we don’t want to leave a bouquet at an empty house if no one’s there. A lot of holiday homes, or homes in exclusive suburbs particularly along the lake front, Acacia Bay or Kinloch can have gate codes. It can be frustrating to drive 40 minutes only to find the road is blocked by a locked gate and we don’t have the code. In that case we will contact the sender to let them know or if we have been given the recipient’s contact details we’ll call them.
We leave the bouquet in a sheltered spot on the doorstep, and message the sender to let them know. If we have the recipient’s number we may also contact the recipient.
We don’t know if a dog is friendly or not, so we may choose not to chance it. Please let us know in advance if there is a dog and provide contact details for the recipient so we can call them if no one comes to the gate.
Ordering ...
Yes of course, we try and keep a few bouquets made up on the shelf for walk ins, but if you want something specific and are happy to wait a few minutes then we’ll make it up for you there and then. Otherwise you can order online, over the phone or if you’re in a hurry text us what you want and we’ll make it up and you can pay on pick up to save waiting
If you’re wondering – yes we can take credit card payment over the phone. We also have eftpos and paywave available instore and laybuy available for online orders.
If it’s a weekday and the delivery is around town we’ll do our best to deliver that afternoon, but we are only open until 1pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.
Send us a message over the website live chat, call, text, or send a message via Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp. We do our best to respond as soon as possible, but if you message us in the evening we may not reply until the morning. If we don’t pick up the call straight away it’s possible we may already be on the phone with another customer, so just send a text and we’ll call back as soon as we can.
About our bouquets ...
Let us know when you place the order what you want and we’ll do our best, although keep in mind some things may not be in season at certain times of the year.
Yes we do this as a matter of course. After every delivery we send an email with a photo of the arrangement to let you know that the flowers have either been delivered, or if no one was home that they have been left on the doorstep.
We put a wet wrap around the bottom of all our bouquets so it’ll be fine for a couple of hours but not overnight. Typically flowers will last longer out of water in winter when it’s colder than they will in summer (unless left in front of a heater). Do not leave your flowers locked in a hot car in summer!
Other options include adding a vox box (a type of cardboard vase with a plastic insert filled with water) or a vase to the order or letting us know so we can wrap the bouquet higher up the stems and you can put it in water yourself ovenight without needing to unwrap it.
Or you could think about ordering a dried flower bouquet instead and you won’t have to worry about water at all.
Our product shots are representative of the style and type of bouquet you might expect from us, but we’re careful to point out in the product description that every bouquet we make is unique. We use seasonal flowers and because we won’t always have the same flowers and the same colours in stock, we don’t want to promise you something we can’t deliver. We also want to create bouquets that keep us inspired and challenged and doing the same thing every day with the same flowers would suck the creativity and joy out of what we do.
Custom orders...
Yes usually we can, we often get requests like this so it’s not a problem for us. We just make need a bit of time to fit it around our other orders.
Yes we can just let us know how big you want it to be, or the size of the space it needs to fit in. If you can email us a photo of the room you want to put it in and the wall it’s to go on that’s helpful too.
You can either call in and pick some dried flowers to arrange in the vase yourself or bring the vase in and we can talk about what you want and make it for you. If it’s just a few stems then it’s always good to be able to size the length with the vase or if it’s something bigger then leave the vase with us and we’ll send you a photo when it’s done.
Other options include adding a vox box (a type of cardboard vase with a plastic insert filled with water) or a vase to the order or letting us know so we can wrap the bouquet higher up the stems and you can put it in water yourself ovenight without needing to unwrap it.
Or you could think about ordering a dried flower bouquet instead and you won’t have to worry about water at all.
Our shop ours ...
We are open 10am-4pm weekdays and 10am-1pm on Saturdays. However someone is usually around from 9am-5pm but we’re a small team and most of us have children so 10am-4pm are the hours we can guarantee the shop will be manned.
Job vacancies / work experience
We are a small team and it’s not often jobs come up, but feel free to send us an email as you never know.
We are always happy to provide an insight into what we do and what the reality of being a florist is like so feel free to contact us.